A food blog of original, kitchen tested recipes with easy to follow instructions.

Eat!

Eating is a necessity. However, we choose what to eat. The choices we make reveal a great deal about us. The food you eat can tell quite a bit about your heritage, your family, your fears, your sense of adventure, your attitude toward yourself and others, and a myriad of other personal tidbits to anyone paying attention. Everything about eating is a glimpse into your soul.

I hope to reveal a little bit about myself to you through my food. I enjoy cooking. I enjoy eating. I find pleasure in bringing pleasure to others. I hope that by sharing my recipes I bring you a little bit of joy.

Place the sliced mushrooms, 1
tablespoon soy sauce and butter in the non-stick skillet over medium heat. Sprinkle
with salt. Sauté until the mushrooms are tender, about 6 minutes. Remove to the
small bowl.

Place the remaining soy sauce
and the bouillon cubes into the mixing bowl.Microwave on high for 1 minute.Crush the bouillon cubes with the fork. You may need to zap it for a few more seconds to be able to mash the cubes.

Mix the beef, bouillon cubes, onion flakes, and celery seed. Don’t over handle the beef
as it will make tough burgers.

Divide the ground beef into 6 equal
¾ inch patties. Make a small dimple in the center of each burger. Generously
salt both sides of the patties.

In the other skillet, heat the
olive oil over medium-high. Place the burgers into the skillet. Cook for 4-5
minutes and then flip. Cook for 3-4 more minutes. Check the thickest burger for
desired temperature. Place a cheese slice onto each burger during the last
minute or so of cooking so that it will melt.

To
serve, place the warm burgers onto the split buns, cheese side up. Top each
burger with the sautéed mushrooms.

Tuesday, June 28, 2016

A friend saw me at
the grocery store and asked, “What are you making for dinner?” When I said
tofu, he made a face. Not a yum face, but a yuck face. I really don’t understand
that reaction. Tofu has NO taste. It does have an interesting texture. I like
to freeze it first, then thaw it. That process makes it chewy.

So don’t yuck it, ‘til
you try it. This recipe was inspired by Pad Thai, which in and of itself is a
version of a Chinese dish. So I don’t even fool myself into calling this Thai
food. But that is where the idea came from and it tastes great, sooooo it’s all
good.

Thai-Inspired Tofu

Servings: 2-4

Time:Prep: 15 minutesCooking:15 minutes

Hardware:A cutting
board and knife, measuring spoons and cups, a small bowl, a large bowl, a fork,
a zester, a whisk, 2 paper towel covered plates, extra paper towels, a deep
skillet, and tongs

Ingredients:

7 ounces of extra firm
tofu (I like Nasoya)*

Oil to cover the bottom of
the skillet-maybe more (I used sesame, any oil will do)

2 cups frozen broccoli
florets

1 cup shredded carrots

2 green onions

2 cloves garlic

2 teaspoons cilantro

1 lime

1 tablespoon peanut butter

1 ½ cups very cold water

2 teaspoons brown sugar

1 teaspoon cornstarch

Salt

8 ounces cooked angel hair
pasta

2 tablespoons peanuts for garnish

Cut the tofu into 1 inch
by 1 inch squares.Lay the squares
on to the paper towel covered plate and allow some of the water to drain
from the tofu.You might want to
change the paper towels a few times.

While the tofu is
draining, crush the garlic and slice the green onions. Separate the white
part of the onion from the green and save both. Zest and juice the lime,
setting zest and juice aside. Chop the cilantro. Place the corn starch
into a bowl with the cold water and whisk until the corn starch dissolves.
Measure everything else and set aside.

Heat the oil on medium
high and add the broccoli florets and stir fry for 2-3 minutes.Add the carrots, onion whites, garlic, cilantro
and lime zest. Stir fry for 2-5 minutes.

Push the veggies to the side.
You may need to add a little more oil to the skillet. Sauté the tofu until
it is crispy, flipping so that it crisps up on every side. This should
take another 5-7 minutes. Place everything in the large bowl.

Pour the cornstarch-y
water, lime juice, peanut butter and brown sugar into the same skillet.
Bring to a boil, whisking constantly. The sauce will thicken. Taste and adjust the salt. Return the
tofu and the veggies to the sauce.

To plate, put the pasta on
a serving plate, top with the tofu stir-fry, and sprinkle with the onion
greens and peanuts.

Tofu comes in 14 ounce containers. To keep the unused
portion simply place it in an airtight container with fresh water.

Friday, June 24, 2016

This is a fun take on Shrimp and Grits. We went to Orlando
for our anniversary last month and I had a dish very similar to this. The dish
in Orlando also included a nice piece of poached fish, but I am not confident
enough to poach fish. To plate ours, I placed creamy, sun-dried tomato polenta in
a bowl. I then topped the polenta with a little wilted spinach and spooned the Shrimp and
Sausage over everything. In Orlando, the cook used mustard greens instead of
spinach, which was delicious. So, you could do that, too. I guess this is sort of a
fusion of Italian and southern cuisine, which just happens to be my
heritage.

This is really easy to make and so very yummy. You can have
a restaurant quality meal on the table in around 30 minutes.

Shrimp and Sausage

Servings: 6-8

Time:
Prep: 10 minutes, Cook: 20 Minutes

Hardware: measuring
spoons and cups, a cutting board and knives, a large heavy-bottom skillet (I
prefer a cast iron skillet), a slotted spoon, a large bowl, a small bowl, a
fork, tongs, and a whisk

Ingredients:

1 tablespoon olive oil

½ pound spicy Italian sausage

1-pound large shrimp (31-35 count) cleaned with tails
removed

3 cloves of garlic

1 bell pepper (1 cup)

1 tablespoon fresh oregano or 1 teaspoon dried

1 cup chicken broth

1 tablespoon tomato sauce

1 teaspoon peanut butter

1 tablespoon corn starch

Salt

I like to use yellow, orange, and red baby bells for added color

Dice the garlic. Remove the seeds and white ribs from
the pepper and dice it. Mince the oregano if using fresh. Remove the
sausage from the casing. Measure everything else and set aside.

Heat the oil in the skillet on medium.Brown the sausage with the garlic and
pepper. Cook and crumble until it’s no longer pink. Make sure to
break up the sausage while it is cooking. This should take about 7
minutes. Use the slotted spoon to remove everything to the large bowl.

Add the shrimp and oregano to the same skillet. Salt
the shrimp. Sauté the shrimp for 2 minutes on each side or until just
pink. Remove the shrimp to the bowl with the sausage.

Mix the tablespoon of corn starch with 2 tablespoons
cold water and stir until dissolved. Set aside.

Add the broth, tomato sauce and peanut butter to the skillet.
Bring to a low boil while whisking. Stir in the cornstarch-y water. Whisk until
the sauce thickens.

Return everything to the skillet.Simmer on low for 5 minutes. Taste and
adjust the salt.

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About Me

I am a teacher living in Florida. I love teaching and I also love to cook. This blog combines those two loves. My recipes are very detailed because I am not making any assumptions about my readers' cooking experience. I want my blog to encourage even new cooks to be brave in the kitchen.